Ramiro Hinojosa performs during the homecoming pregame show, playing his euphonium while in his football gear. With years of experience with both athletics and marching band, Hinojosa made the choice to not make a choice between the two. While the experience is rewarding, it has its ups and downs. “There are some bad days, and the time management gets tough,” Hinojosa said.
Ramiro Hinojosa
Outgoing senior plays Friday night football, euphonium
Senior Ramiro Hinojosa originally started playing the euphonium in eighth grade and after just a year as a musician, he decided to dive into the full-time commitment of high school marching band.
I was originally marching in the show in my cleats and would keep falling, and it was stressful, but I learned to make halftime work.
— Ramiro Hinojosa
“I like music, playing and listening to it,” Hinojosa said, “but mostly the people in band are great, and there’s a community around it.”
Marching band isn’t the only activity that occupies Hinojosa’s time. He has also been playing football as a right guard since freshman year. The sport calls for two elective periods, as well as morning and evening practices during the season.
Committed to both, Hinojosa ran into a problem: both band and football required lots of time, but he only had so much of it.
Starting his day early at 5:30 a.m. to get ready for 7 a.m. band rehearsal, Hinojosa then stops band at 8:30 when it’s time to dress out and head to the field for 9 a.m. football class.
“Managing both is definitely tiring some days,” he said. “There are some bad days, and the time management gets tough.”
But that’s not all. Hinojosa’s most elaborate balancing act, comes during Friday night football games, where he can be seen switching out his cleats for marching shoes to perform in the halftime show of his own game. Through trial and error, however, Hinojosa has made the transition to and from the marching band show much smoother.
“I was originally marching in the show in my cleats and would keep falling, and it was stressful,” Hinojosa said. “But I learned to make halftime work.”